Singy straining at the leash ahead of his ring return

Dan Black

Shayne Singleton is hoping that all the hours preparing for John O’Donnell will finally pay off when he takes on southpaw Wayne Reed tomorrow.

The 26-year-old and coach Karl Ince had plotted meticulously to negate the left-handed Irishman’s style prior to the former Commonwealth champion’s unexplained disappearing act.

But that training camp will now pay dividends as he takes on Yorkshireman Reed at Wigan’s Robin Park Centre in a six round contest.

“He’s a southpaw so I should just be able to click straight back in to it,” said Singleton.

“The training camp for the O’Donnell fight should help me now.

“I learnt a lot about fighting southpaws when preparing for that. I’ve almost had a few weeks’ head start for this.

“I know Warren likes to come in with the double jab and he throws big looping shots.

“He’ll be slower than me though so I’ll look to slip him and use my speed to get some counter punches off.

“He’ll probably try and get in my face but that’s when I perform to my best.

“But I’ll put the pressure on him if necessary.

“I know he won’t want to over commit though because he’ll get caught. I’ll be trying to get on the outside of his jab to cause him problems.”

Singleton, positioned 12th in the welterweight rankings, will meet his middleweight opponent at a catch weight of 157lbs.

The Sheffield-based pugilist, therefore, is naturally bigger and brings experience to the table. The 28-year-old has faced the likes of Robin Reid, Kenny Anderson, Rocky Fielding, Tommy Langford and Anthony Ogogo and even stopped current English super-middleweight champion Jahmaine Smyle earlier in his career.

“He’s got a half-and-half record but the lads that he’s lost against are all top notch.

“He even beat Smyle who is an English champion.

“It’ll definitely be a good test for me.

“I’ll get in there and get the job done but his experience does make me a bit more wary.

“He normally fights at a good few weights above me so I’ve got to be careful.

“He’s naturally bigger than me, he’s strong and he can punch as well.

“He’s used to taking shots off bigger opponents so I won’t be going in there looking for the stoppage.

“It will be good for me to get the rounds in so I’ll just pop and move and look to win on points.

“The stoppage would be a bonus.”

Singleton, who stopped a bigger foe in Gary Cooper in his last outing in December, added: I wasn’t expecting that in my last fight but it came and I was really happy with it.

“I would love to get him out of there early but we’ll just have to see how it goes.

“I just want to put everything that I’ve learnt in to practice.

“I’m feeling good.

“There’s been a few complications in training but other than that I’m ready to go.”

Meanwhile, options are opening up for Singleton should he come through this next challenge unscathed.

With Ince scheduled to travel to Germany with one-time stablemate Tobias Webb at the end of March, manager Steve Wood may attempt to pen Singleton in for the same show. “I want to concentrate on this fight first and get it won,” Singleton said.

“The options are there for me but I just want them to come to fruition.

“I’ll keep busy, keep ticking over and keep working hard in readiness.

“I just want these opportunities to come my way.”

Anybody wanting to purchase tickets for tomorrow’s show can contact Shayne on 07857 476485.

Shayne would also like to thank Wellocks, Bounceback Safety Surfaces, Mancini Menswear and AJ Wood Ltd for their continued sponsorship and support.